Ethernet Virtual Private Network (E-VPN) is a layer 2 virtual private network (VPN) technology, and is based on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). In general, an E-VPN network includes customer edge nodes (CEs) such as hosts, routers, and/or switches that form the edge of a customer system connected to an MPLS infrastructure. Ethernet Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) utilizes Media Access Control (MAC) tunneling in Ethernet networks and in Virtual Private LAN Services (VPLS) networks. Combining PBB with E-VPN creates a PBB-EVPN that results in a reduction of a number of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) MAC advertisement routes.
E-VPN and PBB-EVPN both support device multi-homing, as well as network multi-homing. When device multi-homing is supported, an all-active redundancy model with flow-based load-balancing may be supported. When network multi-homing is supported, an all-active redundancy model with load-balancing based on a virtual local area network (VLAN) may be supported. With network multi-homing, the ability to accommodate increased bandwidth requirements, the ability to accommodate different access topologies, and the ability to provide efficient load-balancing is critical to ensure that an overall network may perform to desired levels.